


New In Town

by anonknowmouse



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, WayHaught Au, Wayhaught - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-08-30 05:44:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8520718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonknowmouse/pseuds/anonknowmouse
Summary: Nicole Haught is the new Purgatory Sheriff's Deputy. She adjusts to living in a small town and developing feelings for a popular local, Waverly Earp, yes Earp as in Wyatt Earp. In the midst of all this she can't help but think something strange is going on, and she's determined to get to the bottom of it.Alright...hey guys I'm new on here. I also have stories on fanfiction.net, so I'm just kind of posting all of those in order to reach more people with my stories. Please tell me what you think and feel free to comment or suggest things you want to see, thanks for reading!Also I'm in college so updates may not be very frequent, but I'm trying to write as quickly as possible (:





	1. Preface

Preface

* * *

_3RD POV_

Nicole Haught was 24 and about to complete her training from the police Academy. Tonight she was out with a few of her friends to celebrate. They drove out of town to a bar and had a few drinks. The group was having fun, but Nicole noticed a girl on the other side of the bar being approached by two drunk men.

She watched them interact with the girl who didn't seem to be enjoying the situation.

"Hey Nicole," one her friends said.

Nicole's attention was redirected and she looked over at her friend, "what? Yeah?"

"You alright?"

Nicole looked back over at the girl and noticed the men beginning to make the girl seem more uncomfortable than before, "uh yeah, hey I'll be right back guys." Nicole got up from her seat and walked over to the girl.

* * *

"Come on, sweetheart, just come home with us. You can't drive drunk anyways."

The other man began to wrap his arm around the girl and she pulled away from them, "I'd rather not," she said.

"Oh come on," the other guy slurred. "I'm just trying to be the good guy. _Let me help you_."

"She doesn't need your help," Nicole interjected.

" _Who the hell are you_?"

"Not important."

The men laughed, "well why don't you go on home. This ain't none of your business."

"She said no, now leave her alone."

"What's some _chick_ like you gonna do?"

The man tried it advance on Nicole and I responded by grabbing his head and driving her knee up into his face. She felt a man's nose break as her knee collided with it.

The man screamed, " _what the hell man_? Not cool."

His friend ran up to him and they made their way to the exit.

"Crazy bitch," he shouted as they walked out.

Nicole looked at it girl, and sat down next to her, "are you okay?"

The girl nodded, "yeah, thanks."

"Anytime, my name's Nicole."

"Chrissy."

"Want me to call someone to come get you?"

"Can you call my dad? I've had too much to drink."

"Sure."

Chrissy wrote down the number and gave it to the girl. Nicole noticed the girl looked pale, so she called her friends over.

"Hey is everything okay?"

"Can one of you take Chrissy to the bathroom, she doesn't look too good and I gotta call her dad."

"Sure," one of her friends nodded before taking the blonde to the bathroom.

Once they left her friends spoke up, "what happened, Nicole?"

"Uh those two guys were harassing her and then they advanced on me so I broke the guy's nose."

"Well yeah," her other friend laughed. "The whole bar saw you nail the guy. It was badass."

"You're gonna be a great cop."

Nicole smiled, "thanks. I gotta go call her dad, I'll be right back."

Her friends nodded and Nicole walked outside.

* * *

She dialed the number that was scribbled on the paper and waited for someone to pick up the phone.

"Purgatory Police Department, Sheriff Nedley speaking."

"Hi, sir. Um my name is Nicole Haught and I'm with your daughter."

"Is everything okay?"

"She's a little drunk and wanted me to call you to come get her."

"Where are you?"

"We're at Rick's Pub."

"I'll be there in thirty minutes."

Nedley hung up and Nicole went back inside. She noticed her friends sitting at the bar with Chrissy, so she went and sat with them.

"I called your dad, he'll be here in thirty minutes."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

20 minutes had passed and the girls all sat together talking.

"Yeah I always come here. I love our local bar, but it's nice to get out of town," Chrissy explained.

Nicole smiled and nodded. One of her friends started to yawn and nicole patted her on the back, "hey why don't you guys go home, I'll stay with Chrissy until her dad gets here."

"Are you sure, Nicole," her friend asked through another yawn.

The redhead laughed, "yeah I'm sure. Head on home guys, I'll take care of this."

"Alright," Nicole's best friend stood up and gave her a hug. "Text me when you get home so I know you're okay."

"Sure thing, Maddie."

"Bye."

"Bye guys," Nicole waved to them as they left.

"You know you don't have to stay here," Chrissy said. "My dad will be here in a few minutes."

"No, it's fine. I'm not gonna leave you here all by yourself."

"Thanks."

Nicole smiled, "do you want me to get you anything to drink?"

"Just some water."

"Sure." Nicole looked around and found the bartender on the other end of the bar. She got up and walked over to him. "Excuse me?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"Could I get some water for my friend?"

"Of course."

He grabbed a glass and scooped some ice into it before grabbing the nozzle to pour water into it. "So is your friend okay?"

"What?"

"Those guys that were messing with her, is she okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. Wait-"

The man chuckled, "yeah I saw what happened, and for the record I was going to stop them, but then I noticed you walking over. I would've been there if things had went south. And I would have kicked them out regardless."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry about the commotion."

"Don't worry about it kid," he said as he handed her the glass of water.

"Thanks," Nicole grabbed the glass and brought it over to Chrissy.

"Thanks Nicole."

"Yeah."

The blonde took a sip before talking again, "so are you still in college?"

"Uh well I'm almost done at the Police Academy, so."

"Aren't you supposed to like wear your uniform all the time?"

Nicole shrugged, "we came to this bar because it was far enough away we wouldn't run into anyone, so I could dress in normal clothes."

Chrissy laughed and the two carried on the conversation, getting to know a little more about each other before her dad walked through the doors.

"Chrissy, are you alright?"

"Yeah dad, I'm fine, Nicole here helped me out."

"Thank you for helping my daughter."

"No problem sir."

"Daddy, she's about to finish up from the police academy."

" _Really_?"

Nicole smiled and nodded.

"Well, we're always looking for new officers."

Nicole raised an eyebrow questioning the man.

" _Not for bad reasons_ , it's just a small town, Limited options for recruits, and some of the guys...Well let's just say I'm glad they failed the preliminary law enforcement exam."

Nicole chuckled.

"Anyways," Nedley continued. "When you get out of the academy, give me a call if you're interested in the job. Like I said, it's a small town, but it's never a boring job, trust me." He handed her his card and thanked her once more before taking Chrissy and leaving the bar.

Nicole read over the card and put it in her pocket before thanking the bartender once more and going home. Once she got home she sent Maddie a text and went to bed.

* * *

A week later she had graduated from the police academy and she was out once more. She was still in her uniform that she wore for the ceremony, and she was having drinks with her friends.

"So I heard you're moving."

" _What_ ," Maddie said shocked. "You're leaving Pheonix?"

"Yeah," her friend Claire said. "She's moving to some small town _nobody's_ ever heard of."

"Hey people have heard of it," Nicole tried to defend the small town.

"What's the name of it," Maddie asked.

"It doesn't even have a zipcode," Claire joked.

"What's the _name_ of it," Maddie asked again.

"Purgatory," Nicole said.

" _Purgatory_?" Both girls exclaimed in unison. " _Where the hell is Purgatory_?"

"Like thirty minutes from Flagstaff guys."

"Seriously?"

"Nicole there's probably only like 100 people in that town, why would you pick that place?"

"Wait," Maddie spoke up. "The girl from last week. Wasn't she from like some small town like that?"

"Yeah, Chrissy. She lives there, her dad offered me the job actually. I'm gonna Sheriff Nedley's deputy."

"Oh," Claire said. "Gettin' cozy with the Sheriff's daughter?"

"What? Ew, no!"

"What? She was totally hot," Maddie said trying to defend the blonde.

"Well yeah, but she's not really my type."

"Please," Claire laughed. "Since when was any girl not your type."

"Hey," Nicole hit the girl lightly. "Things are a lot different now."

"Yeah, sure."

Maddie laughed as she took a sip of her beer. "Oh come on Nicole, we're only joking with you."

"I know. I'm gonna miss you guys."

"Hell yeah you are."

* * *

The next day Nicole woke up early to pack the few things she had into boxes and loaded them into the back of her truck. Maddie came over to say goodbye and then Nicole was off to Purgatory. Luckily it was only a few hours away, so she knew she'd be able to see her friends easily.

Once she got into Purgatory, she felt something strange, like an odd feeling in her stomach. She figured she was just nervous, so she went to the police department to get her uniform.

"I'm glad you decided to come here Nicole," Nedley said as he gave her a couple pants and shirts. "Try these on for size, if they don't fit we'll get you others."

"Thanks," Nicole said as she took the small pile of clothes.

"Bathroom is around the corner, down the hall, on the left."

Nicole nodded before heading to the bathroom and trying on the uniform. She tried on three sizes of shirts. The small was way too tight, the large was too baggy, so the girl ended up with the medium. She tried on several pairs of pants, and ended up getting the ones that were a tad long on her, but she decided that with the boots she'll wear with them, they'll fit perfectly. She put on the brown belt he had handed her, and then she put her boots back on. Once she was fully dressed, she walked back out.

"Uniform looks good," Nedley said. "What size was everything so I can grab you a few extra for you."

"Uh, medium shirt, and 32" long for pants, sir" NIcole said.

He went back and grabbed two more sets of the uniform, a holster and a white stetson for the girl.

"Here you are Officer Haught."

"Thank you, Sheriff."

"Thank you, Deputy."

Nicole smiled as she took the rest of her stuff and headed out towards her car.

"Nicole," Nedley stopped her.

"Sir?"

"You'll start tomorrow, bright and early. We'll have all of your gear here tomorrow."

"Yes sir."

"Oh and Chrissy said to have you meet her at Shorty's, the local bar."

Nicole nodded and walked out of the office. She put her hat on and got in her truck and drove around town. It really was a small town and it resembled a town you'd see in an old western, but with more brick. She made her way to Shorty's and met up with Chrissy who was able to get the girl a place to stay.

"It's not the nicest apartment, but it's got a bed, a couch and a fully equipped kitchen."

"Thank you."

Originally she was going to spend a night or two at Chrissy's until she could find a place, but now she was able to stay in her own place.

"My dad already paid the first two month's rent."

"Oh he didn't have to that."

Chrissy shrugged, "he said it was the least he could do for his new deputy. He also said it was his way of thanking you for the bar incident."

"Hey, any good person would've jumped in and stopped those douchebags."

Chrissy laughed and flagged down the bartender, "hey Shorty, got the new deputy here!"

"Ah nice to meet you, officer."

Nicole shook his hand and smiled, "nice to meet you too, sir."

"Can I get you a drink?"

"I'll just have a water."

"Sure thing."

He handed her a glass of water and she smiled and thanked him.

"Hey Shorty," Chrissy asked. "Where's Waverly?"

"I think she's out with Gus today."

"Oh darn, I was gonna introduce her to Nicole."

"Well there'll be other times."

"Who are we talking about?"

"Waverly Earp."

"Earp? Like Wyatt Earp?"

"Yep."

Nicole was aware of the history of Purgatory, well, she had read and caught up on the history of the town over the past week. She was aware of the infamous gunslinger, Wyatt Earp. And some of the theories circulating the town involving the supernatural. Though she wasn't so sure she believed in the theories, she liked to have evidence before believing in anything, or at least a better hunch than random internet stories. She admitted to herself there was something weird about the town. Still, she found herself in a small town, and she still needed to adapt to the new surroundings.

* * *

After a nice afternoon at Shorty's, Nicole went to her new apartment and unpacked, it was a little sloppy, and the apartment wasn't very roomy, but it was good enough for her. She spent the rest of the nice on her laptop, researching more about the history of the town, trying to get more insight on the small town she would be working in. She learned more about the town and Chrissy's friend Waverly. Normally she wouldn't search a girl she hadn't even met, but she was curious about the girl and her relations with Wyatt Earp. She also learned about the incident where her house was attacked and the girl's father was killed accidentally by her sister while the oldest sister was taken away and never seen again. After reading several articles about the same incident, Nicole decided to call it a night, and she went to bed.

* * *

The next day she went into the police department and Nedley was waiting for her.

"Officer Haught," he smiled. "Let's get started."


	2. The Itch

_3RD POV_

Nicole's first day was both exciting and boring. She did get her gun and other equipment along with her own stack of business cards with all of her information including her office telephone, the fax and her cell number, and she got the keys to the crown victoria police cruiser. But then the rest of her time at the station she was filling out the last bits of paperwork until lunch when Nedley decided he would take her around town.

The two drove around the Ghost River County limits so that Nicole was able to recognize certain spots. He pointed out the Earp land which had been deserted after the incident Nicole had read about the night before. And he highlighted parts of downtown for her where she could get the necessities and find things to do when she's not at work.

After their drive they had lunch at Shorty's. This time it was busy, there were people scattered throughout the saloon and there were three people working. One was the man she met yesterday, another was another man who looked like your average cowboy, but with a lot of tattoos, and the third was a girl that caught Nicole's attention.

She had long brown hair that went to the middle of her back while it was up in a ponytail. She had on dark high waisted shorts and had a red and black baseball shirt that was a tad too big for her. She had pulled shirt up and tied it so that it acted more like a crop top, and she had on a nice pair of boots that complimented her toned legs.

Nicole was in awe of the girl's beauty and she watched her as she worked. After what felt like an unusually long amount of time she looked away from the girl and continued looking at the menu and pretending to listen to everything Nedley was saying. She would glance up occasionally and look at the brunette. One time Nedley caught her staring , but he figured she was just trying to figure out who people were.

"Waverly Earp," he said with a sigh as he took a sip of his beer while reading the menu.

"That's Ms. Earp?"

"Yeah, she's the last one here."

"What happened to the others?"

"Well," he said as he sat up a little more and set the menu down. "The eldest, Willa, was taken the night her father was killed. No one knows what happened to her. After weeks of searching we stopped and assumed she was dead."

Nicole sat there a little surprised to hear it from somebody who had obviously experienced it.

"The middle one, Wynonna, she was trouble. She stayed for a while, but she was in and out of town once she was old enough to drive. She hasn't been back here for about three years. Waverly is the only one we have left. She's been through a lot, but she's the sweetest and smartest person you'll ever meet in this town."

Nicole nodded, "ever try to recruit her?"

"No, didn't think she'd want to. Her daddy was a deputy, and she never seemed interested, so I never really asked."

Nedley continued to talk about more locals. Shorty came over with a huge smile on his face and interrupted the conversation to take their order, then he left and Nedley continued. He has a small backstory for almost everyone in the bar, and Nicole laughs to herself because she knew it was a small town, but hearing how much Nedley knows makes it feel even smaller.

Their food came rather quickly and before Nicole knew it they were leaving to get back to the station. She never got to introduce herself to Waverly, but she figured she had plenty of time since she lived here now. They spent the rest of the day at the station where Nedley was introducing Nicole to the other officers.

* * *

Everything was calm until Nedley got a call from a bus driver about some suspicious activity in the woods outside of town. He said that they heard strange noises and two girls got off the bus and never came back. Nedley told Nicole about the call and they headed out to see what was going on. While they were out they got another call from the station that a girl was found further down the road by a local. They drove to the location, and the medical examiner and a few more officers joined them.

Nedley went to talk to the man who found the girl while Nicole went to get information from the medical examiner. She looked over at the body and noticed the girl's head had been ripped clean off.

" _Where's her head_?"

The man shrugged, "no idea. Looks like this was a coyote attack of some sort."

"Wouldn't there be like bite marks or something?"

"Not always."

Nicole rolled her eyes at the vague responses the man was giving her and continued to walk around the scene and take photos. Some of the other officers had already taken photos of the body, so now she was looking for other clues as to what happened. She found strange claw marks in the dirt that looked more like nails. She took a photo of them and placed a marker beside it.

"Coyote attack my ass," she mumbled.

She noticed more marks and continued to follow them until she was in the middle of the woods. She got that strange feeling in her stomach that she had when she first crossed the town line, but this time it was a lot stronger. She figured it was because she was now alone in the woods and then she looked around and saw the head of the girl hanging from a branch. She was shocked by the sight and stumbled backwards and tripped.

She used her radio to call over Nedley. She took some photos and looked around the site to find more clues. She noticed several footprints in the ground. She took more photos and set up more markers. She noticed that there were three different types of footprints. She assumed one of them belonged to the blonde. That only left two others to try to identify.

She continued to look around the site and heard more noises in the woods and quickly turned around, "Sheriff?"

With no response she turned around a little more to see if anyone else had come up around. When she turned back to where she had found the head she noticed that it was gone.

"What the hell?"

She looked around again, and laughed to herself, "I get it guys. This is a joke right? Hazing the new kid?"

A few moments later Nedley was walking up to her, "what do we have officer?"

Nicole decided not to tell him about the head that had disappeared because she didn't want to seem crazy, especially on her first day. She showed him more of the strange marks and the different types of footprints in the dirt.

"Nice work officer."

She smiled and walked back with Nedley.

"So what does this mean," she asked him. "This was a murder right?"

"Not necessarily."

"But sir, there were three different prints back there. One, the blonde-"

"Kirsten, we found her driver's license, it's Kirsten."

"Okay, then Kirsten is accounted for. If like you said only one other person got off of the bus, then that means two prints are accounted for. That still leaves one more footprint that doesn't belong to either."

"We'll look into it, Officer Haught. But we will tell the public it was a coyote attack."

Nicole was about to speak again, but Nedley spoke again, "look I have some detective coming out to the site later this afternoon, so I need you to go back to the station and start the paperwork while I wait on this guy, okay?"

"Yes, sir," Nicole said as she walked back to her car and drove back to the station.

* * *

When she was driving back into to town she saw Waverly outside of Shorty's with some other girl. She didn't know the other girl, but she figured they were close because they were hugging each other. She continued to drive back to the station, and once she got there, she started working on the paper work.

Police reports were one of the worst parts of the job. She hated having to sit still for so long, it was like being back at school. After two hours Nedley returned with some guy following him. They seemed to be arguing about something, but all Nicole heard was the stranger asking about where the coffee maker was.

Once the man left, Nedley walked towards her and Nicole spoke up, "sir what was that about?"

"We have a new person moving into some office space."

Nicole nodded, "alright then."

"Done with that report yet?"

"I'm working on it, sir."

"Well I'll leave you to it."

Nicole ended up finally finishing the police report, then Nedley let her go home.

* * *

Nicole had been in Purgatory for a week, and she was finally learning her way around town, and she had gotten to know a few people pretty well. Unfortunately she had yet to introduce herself to Waverly. Everytime she was about to talk to the girl she would either get pulled back to her job or Nicole would get nervous and go to the other end of the bar and talk to Shorty.

She learned that Wynonna was back in town, she had seen her at the police station. And Nedley told her that the guy's name was Dolls, and he is part of Black Badge, whatever that is, and now Wynonna is part of the team. Unfortunately, they weren't very cooperative, so she never really heard much from them.

In addition to the secretiveness of Black Badge, Nicole noticed weirder things going on in Purgatory since Wynonna got back, and that weird feeling she had a only getting worse and she couldn't figure out why. Maybe there was some odd paranormal activity or maybe it's just her trying to get used to the new environment. Whatever it was it was driving her crazy.

Nedley had heard something about a shooting at Shorty's, but no one bothered to call it in. So he sent Nicole to the bar to see if she could find out more information. Now Nicole is sitting in her cruiser, thinking of the questions she's going to ask.

Meanwhile Waverly Earp was thirty minutes into her shift to open Shorty's. She was cleaning the beer taps when one of them suddenly began to spray the contents all over the counter and the girl. She squealed as she tried to turn the tap off. When she finally managed to stop the spraying, her top was already soaked.

"Perfect," she mumbled to herself.

Nicole had finally gotten the courage to walk in, and she was not expecting to see the girl covered in beer fighting with the defective tap. She watched the girl fumble to get a rag and took a deep breath before talking.

" _I didn't know Shorty's had wet t-shirt competitions_ ," Nicole said with a smile.

Throughout all of the chaos, Waverly didn't notice the other woman walk into the bar, and she was startled when Nicole spoke up, so she laughed in response.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Waverly sighed as she attempted to dry herself off.

"Yeah?"

"I just had uh, _a crazy night_."

"Sorry I wasn't here to see it," Nicole said as she moved towards the counter and set her hat down. She leaned on the counter and looked over at the girl who was cleaning up the rest of the mess.

"You're the new sheriff's deputy, right," Waverly asked.

"Yeah," the redhead nodded. "How'd you know?"

"Small town," the brunette shrugged. "Word spreads quickly, and Nedley talks a lot about you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's quite fond of you. You must be good to get the Nedley seal of approval."

Nicole laughed as she tried to hide her reddening cheeks, "well I've been uh, meaning to introduce myself,"she said as she stuck out her hand. "I'm Nicole, Nicole Haught."

"Hi," Waverly smiled as she shook the woman's hand.

"And you are Waverly Earp."

The girl laughed and nodded.

"Quite a popular girl around here."

"Oh, you know, it's all in the smile and wave," she said as she mimicked her words.

Nicole smiled, "can I get a cappuccino to go," she asked as she leaned on a table.

"Oh, I'm really sorry. We're actually not open yet so-"

"Oh, _right_ , okay my bad!" She tried to laugh it off, it was obvious they weren't open, but she couldn't seem to formulate the correct words at the moment. "It's just when I see something I like, I don't want to wait. And your door was open so."

Waverly laughed as she exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding in, "right." She took another breath and looked down another herself and chuckled again, "God, I'm soppin' wet."

Nicole laughed along.

"You know I keep telling Shorty he needs to fix the darn taps."

Waverly set the towel down and Nicole slowly watched the woman. Taking in the sight of the other girl's quirkiness.

"Sorry, could you just," she motioned for the girl to turn around.

Nicole rose her eyebrows, "what? Oh," she motioned over eyes.

"Yeah."

"Right, sure."

Once Nicole turned around Waverly did too just to ensure she wouldn't end up accidentally flashing the girl. She pulled it shirt over head but then it got caught on the pins in her hair. She heard a shirt rip a little as a struggled to pull it off.

"Oh, _oh crap_ ," she she said to herself as she looked back over to the officer who was still facing away from her. "Uh, officer?"

Nicole quickly turned around.

"Could you- I'm stuck so, uh could you-"

"Oh," Nicole laughed as she walked around the counter to help the girl. "Here let me help you with that."

She carefully untangled the shirt from the pins it was caught on and helped pull the shirt off the rest of the way. Nicole held on to the shirt while Waverly fixed her hair, "good thing you're not some guy right, or else this would be really….." The girl trailed off as she noticed Nicole look down and smile before giving her shirt back. "Awkward." Waverly took the shirt and covered her chest. Suddenly she couldn't think of the words to say and the two were just standing there, looking at each other. After a few moments Waverly pulled herself out of her thoughts, "uh, I uh, I- I owe you one."

"Okay," the officer nodded. "How bout you buy me that cup of coffee? How about tonight?"

"Oh I can't," Waverly quickly replied. Noticing the girl's smile begin to drop, she quickly began to speak again. "I-I mean I'd love to- _like_ to…" She stuttered as she avoided eye contact with the woman. "But I have plans. I'm a planner. I like to know what I'm doing two or three days in advance."

Nicole nodded.

The brunette found herself struggling to concentrate, she was entranced by the other woman. "I'm in a relationship," she quickly stated. "With a boy- _man_!"

"A boy-man?" The officer chuckled as she walked back around the counter, "yep, I've been there! _It's the worst_ ," she said with a bit of sarcasm in her voice. After a short pause she picked up her hat and set her card down on the counter. "Okay, well. Some other time." She began to walk towards the exit and turned around to see Waverly holding her card in her hand. "I mean it," the redhead said before putting her hat on and walking out.

"Officer….Haught," Waverly said. "Of course."

* * *

After leaving the bar, Nicole sat in her car for a few minutes thinking about what had just happened. She never even asked the girl about what happened last night. Now she was on her way to the station without a coffee and without any information. Once she got in she noticed a back box on the counter. Nedley noticed her staring at it, and came out of his office to greet her.

"Officer Haught."

Nicole smiled.

He pointed at the package, "delivery to Deputy Marshall Dolls."

"Well that makes sense."

"Yeah but he's in his office with Wynonna, and hasn't come out yet."

"Oh, well I'll take it to them."

"You don't have to, the guy can get his own mail."

Nicole shrugged, "might as well, we're not busy, and it gives me a chance to introduce myself."

"Alright," Nedley walked back to his office but stopped short of the entrance. "Did you find anything out about last night?"

"No, Shorty's wasn't open, but I'll check in later tonight."

Nedley nodded before walking back into his office and closing the door.

* * *

Nicole set her stuff down and grabbed the black box from the counter and headed towards the black badge office. She knocked on the door a couple times and then opened the door. Since Purgatory was such a small town, everyone was pretty welcoming, so you usually just had to knock to let the person know you were there and just let yourself in afterwards. Apparently, this was not the case with officer Dolls.

" _Hey_ ," Nicole said with a smile. "Check it out, another piping hot delivery from," she looked at the box as she walked towards the man. " _Wow_ , CSIS."

Dolls and Wynonna stood there in silence, staring at her.

"Oh I'm Nicole, Officer Haught. Y'all gettin' settled in? What is all this stuff?"

"Thank you, Officer Haught," Dolls said as he took the package.

Nicole smiled.

"If you ever enter my office again without knocking, I'll have you arrested for treason."

Nicole bit her tongue.

"She _did_ knock, Dolls," Wynonna stated. "Geez, don't get your panties in a bunch."

The redhead tried to contain her laughter.

"Wynonna Earp," the other woman said. "Don't worry about him, he hasn't had his donut yet."

Nicole nodded, "well it's nice to meet you Wynonna. Officer Dolls…" she rolled her eyes at him before walking out and slamming the door.

* * *

After a long day at work, Nicole went to Shorty's to get some dinner. She noticed Waverly there along with Chrissy. She sat down in the booth and ordered her food, and she didn't even notice the other two girls walking over to her.

"Hey there deputy!"

Nicole over to see Chrissy walking over with Waverly in tow, "hey, Chrissy."

"What're you doin' here all alone?"

"Just getting dinner and heading home."

"Long day at work," Waverly asked.

Nicole shrugged, "yeah, I guess. How was your day? Anymore beer mishaps?"

Waverly smiled, "no."

"She got in a fight with Champ after work."

"Chrissy!"

"What? That's why we're here, right? So you can vent and relax."

"Yeah but Nicole doesn't want to hear about that."

Nicole shook her head, "hey if you need someone to vent to, I'm a pretty good listener."

"Waves I'm gonna go get another drink."

Waverly nodded and she decided to sit down across from the redhead.

"Not a big drinker?"

The other girl chuckled, "please, I'm an Earp."

"I'm not so sure what that means, but good for you."

Waverly laughed, "I can handle my alcohol."

Nicole nodded, "fair enough."

Chrissy returned with two beers and handed one to the brunette before sitting down next to Nicole who slid over to make room for her. The three sat and talked about their day until a drunken man-child came stumbling into the bar and headed straight for Waverly. He sloppily slid into the booth and placed small kisses all over the girl.

"Champ," Waverly said as she pushed him off of her.

"Baby, I'm so sorry."

"Go home Champ, I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Oh come on baby, it was all just a misunderstanding."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You are ridiculous."

"Champ," Chrissy spoke up. "Leave before Shorty see's you. He'll kick your ass before I have to."

"Shorty can't do anything."

Feeling uncomfortable, Nicole finally spoke up, "look the ladies asked politely, _just leave them alone._ "

"Who the hell are you?"

"Officer Haught, sheriff's deputy. And I suggest you leave these girls alone before things get rough."

Champ rolled his eyes and got out of the booth to go upstairs to his room above the bar.

Nicole looked over to the brunette, "You okay?"

The girl nodded.

Noticing the tension between the two girls, Chrissy spoke up, "hey Waves, it's getting late, I'm gonna head out."

"Okay, bye Chrissy."

"Bye Officer."

"Bye Chrissy."

Now the two girls were alone. Nicole had been so distracted she didn't realize that her food had arrived. She began to eat and Waverly sat across from her in silence. Nicole pushed her tray over towards the girl, "do you want some?"

"No thanks."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Waverly sighed, "just didn't want to run into Champ tonight. I was hoping he would be at his parents so I could have the loft to myself."

The redhead nodded, "well I may be crossing the line, but if you would like, you're welcome to come home with me."

"Oh I couldn't ask you to do that."

"It's no problem at all Waverly, it's just me and my cat."

Waverly nodded, "well, I think I'm just gonna go back to the homestead with Wynonna."

"Well, when I'm finished with this, let me give you a ride. Unless you drove here."

"No," the girl shook her head. "Chrissy gave me a ride, I was just gonna have Gus drop me off."

"Well, let me save Gus a trip."

"Nicole, you really don't have to."

"I don't mind," the girl smiled.

"Okay," Waverly said with a smile and a nod. "I'd love a ride back, thank you."

* * *

Nicole finished her food quickly despite Waverly insisted that the girl could take her time. The two headed out to the police cruiser, and Waverly made her way to the passenger seat. NIcole got in and started the car, and they were on their way to the homestead.

"So why is Wynonna at the homestead?"

"Oh, she's fixing it up, so she can move back in, but most nights she goes back to Gus's. She probably had too much to drink and passed out on the couch."

Nicole nodded.

"Thank you again for getting Champ to leave us alone."

"No need for thanks. You know, I met Chrissy in a similar situation."

"She had beer spray all over her too?"

Nicole laughed, "no. I mean I stopped some drunk guy from messing with her."

"Oh."

"Does Champ drink a lot," Nicole asked trying to continue the small talk.

"Yeah, he does. I'm used to it. But recently he's just been….Annoying. You know, a pick-up truck and a place above the local bar can get old quickly."

"Well. I may be crossing a line again, but...I think you deserve better than a pick-up and a boner," the deputy pulled onto the Earp land and turned off the car leaving the two in a comfortable silence. Waverly had been with Champ since her senior year, and the only person who told her she could do better was Wynonna who she had caught in bed with him.

Waverly simply nodded before taking a deep breath and smiling, "thank you for the ride."

"Yeah," Nicole nodded. "Have a goodnight, Waverly."

"You too."

Nicole watched Waverly walk up to the doors and walked inside before she drove away.

* * *

The rest of the week went by quickly. Nicole ran into Waverly a couple times. And Nicole was able to drop by the bar after work a few times to see the waitress. After a long week the deputy decided to go to Shorty's to wind down.

Waverly spent the week helping Wynonna with fixing up the homestead. After a few more attacks from the revenants, the Earp girls were positive that the curse was real, and now thanks to Black Badge they were ready to track down the seven that took their father and sister. By the end of the week Waverly was a Black Badge consultant and she was moving back to the homestead with Wynonna. Now she was on her way to Shorty's to get her things from Champ's.

Neither girl was expecting to see each other, but they were both happily surprised when Nicole ran into the girl when she came out of the restroom. Waverly had just made it down the stairs with one of the three boxes in her hands when she saw the flash of red, and before she knew it the other girl was on the floor.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry are you okay," the brunette asked as she set the box on the counter of the bar. "Oh Nicole!"

"Well hello to you too."

Waverly offered a hand to the girl, "sorry about that. I have a lot of stuff."

"Don't worry about it. What's with the boxes? You moving?"

"Yeah, going back to the Homestead with Wynonna."

"Oh. Is everything okay?"

"What? Oh! Yeah Champ- we uh, yeah we're fine. He's a little grumpy about it, but he'll get over it."

Nicole nodded, "well do you need any help?"

"Actually? Yeah if you don't mind. I have two more boxes up there, if you could grab one."

"Sure."

Nicole went up the stairs and grabbed one of the boxes and carried it downstairs, passing Waverly, who was making her way up to grab the last box. Nicole waited at the bottom of the stairs for the other girl who came back down quickly and they headed out to her car. They set the other two boxes in the back of the red jeep and Nicole let out a sigh as she leaned against the door.

"Thanks again, Nicole."

"Anytime. It's cool that you're moving back in with Wynonna."

"Yeah," the waitress smiled. "It'll be just like old times."

"Alright, well I'll see you around Waves."

"Okay."

* * *

After the night at Shorty's Nicole and Waverly hadn't seen much of each other. Nicole drove out to see her friends for the weekend, and Waverly worked at the bar, secretly wishing that the redhead would pop in.

After the weekend, both girls were back at work, Nicole was surprised to see Waverly waltz through the doors with her sister, but she figured she'd just been added to the mysterious team.

Waverly cut back her hours at Shorty's in order to help out with Black Badge, but she had to go into work just after Nicole had walked in with the report of a hostage situation.

* * *

Dolls and Wynonna rushed to the scene and were followed by Nedley and Nicole. In the end, Wynonna went into the building as a hostage. There were ten hostages, only eight were released in exchange for Wynonna. They stood outside of the building and waited for something to happen.

"What's the plan Deputy Marshall?"

"We sit tight until further notice. If we hear gunshots, we go in. Call Waverly," Dolls said handing Nicole his phone. "Tell her that her sister is in a situation."

Nicole nodded and looked down the road and noticed a familiar car, "hey isn't that Champ's truck?"

"Waverly's boyfriend."

" _Unfortunately_ ," Nicole mumbled. She wasn't sure that Dolls could hear her, but the look of confusion that he gave her let her know she was heard. She chose to ignore his odd stare and walked back to her car to call Waverly.

After three attempts, she left a voicemail and returned her focus to the building. She couldn't help but feel a familiar itch in the back of her mind, and it seemed to increase her senses.

"Officer Haught," Nedley said.

"Yeah," she said as she quickly turned towards him.

"Are you alright? You don't look to good."

"Yeah, no, I feel fine," Nicole said ignoring the itching that was spreading all over her body.

"Alright, well, let me know if you feel off. I need you on your A game."

"Yes sir."

* * *

In the end, the situation was taken over by Black Badge, and Nicole went to file her own report, it was short and simple since there wasn't much for her to write. She heard over the radio that Shorty was one of the hostages and that he was being rushed to the hospital due to having a stroke. Shorty's closed soon after hearing the news, and Waverly rushed over to the hospital with Wynonna to check on him. Nicole decided to make a trip down too, to make sure he and the Earp girls were okay.

She had just walked in when she saw Waverly crying on Wynonna's shoulder. She walked over to the two and offered the older one a soft smile who gave her one back in return. She noticed the sad look on everyone's face and assumed the worst. No one had left yet, she figured they were all too shocked or upset to move. Most of the people in the waiting room seemed to know the man very well.

Wynonna stood up to go get some coffee leaving the girl alone on the couch.

"Waverly," Nicole said as she sat on her knees in front of the girl. "I'm so sorry."

"I can't believe he's gone."

Nicole sighed and held the girl's hand. Waverly smiled and was about to say something when Champ rushed through the doors and sat next to the girl. Nicole quickly pulled her hands away and set them in her lap as Champ began to pepper kisses all over the brunette's face.

"Oh baby, it's gonna be okay," he said.

She grabbed his arm to try and get him to let go of her face, but he continued his assault on her face. She knew he meant well, so she just sat patiently and waited for him to stop.

Nicole felt awkward and a little upset sitting there watching them, so she slowly got up to leave. She had just turned around when she felt Waverly grab her hand and pull her back around.

" _Hey_ ," she said through her breath.

Nicole smiled as the girl continued to hold her hand.

"I got your voicemail about Wynonna. _It was really sweet_ , thanks."

"Yeah, of course," Nicole smiled and she squeezed the girl's hand and walked towards the door. She was going to leave when she spotted Dolls and went to ask him about the case.

* * *

"I don't know," Champ huffed as the duo watched the redhead walk away. "Something about her just, rubs me the wrong way. Officer, _what's her name_."

"It's Haught," Waverly corrected him. "And she's really, really sweet," she said thinking back to the voicemail trying to hold back the tears that reappeared.

"Oh baby, baby. It's okay, I'm okay. Wynonna and I were almost human sacrifice, but Shorty saved us."

"Yeah, Dolls said they were some weird cult. And Wynonna tells me you're really brave."

"Yeah, I was. And one thing's for sure I'm never leaving your side again." And once again Champ was inundating her with unwanted kisses.

* * *

"Hey, I know it was some cult, but are you sure it's not connected to that time capsule murder from a few days ago?"

"No," Dolls said. "Metro is taking over the time capsule murder. And there was no connection between the two events."

"Poor Shorty."

"Yeah, our medical examiner is going to do a full autopsy, but it looks like Shorty's heart condition couldn't handle the stress of the ordeal."

Nicole nodded and noticed Waverly walking over to Wynonna and giving her a hug. Dolls noticed where the girl was looking and shot her a quizzical look.

"She said she was glad I called."

" _I bet_ ," he said.

She smiled before walking out of the hospital and going home.

* * *

Once Nicole got home, she sat at her computer researching the Black badge division. She couldn't help but feel that something strange was going on. She had a hard time believing that Shorty only had a stroke, she suspected there was something more.

Soon enough Nicole looked down at the clock and saw that it was midnight. Usually she would go to bed, but she was didn't have to go in early tomorrow, so she continued to work. Suddenly she felt the itching feeling all over her body again, and continued to ignore it. But soon she found that it was hard for her to focus, and she was getting a headache from the light from her laptop. Along with the headache she felt like her upper back and shoulder muscles were cramping, which didn't surprise her after the long day of work, but it only added to the pain she was experiencing.

Deciding that she was too exhausted to keep researching, she turned off her laptop and headed to her room. She felt weak as she changed as she audibly sighed when her back finally hit the cushion of the mattress. Before she knew it she was asleep.

* * *

She doesn't know what time it is when she wakes up, but it's still dark. Usually she sleeps like a rock, but Nicole jolted awake when she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She thought she might be getting her period, so she went to the bathroom. When she flicked the light on, she found that her eyes were extremely sensitive to the light, and had trouble walking around the small room. With no sign of her period she went back to her bed and laid down. She tried to go back to sleep, but she felt a weird tingling sensation all over her body, and it was starting to itch. Along with the itching her heart was racing.

Nicole had no idea what was going on, so she went out to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water, but when she tried to hold the glass, she was too shaky. She was disoriented as she tried to make her way back to her bed, and she was beginning to feel nauseous. Suddenly she found herself outside and it was like the world was spinning around her, and then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! Again, feel free to leave comments and suggestions (:


	3. Werewolf

Chapter 2          

_ 3RD POV _

* * *

 “Hey,” Nicole heard a faint voice.

“Hey,” she heard the voice a bit clearer.

“Officer?” As the voice became clearer she realized that she recognized the voice.

“Officer Haught?” It was the voice of Waverly Earp.

**_How can that be,_ ** Nicole thought.  **_I’m in my apartment. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know where I live. Maybe this is part of a dream._ **

“Nicole?”

**_This is definitely a dream. Wait...I have work._ **

“ _ Shit _ ,” Nicole shot upwards.  “ _ Ow _ .”

“ _ Ow _ .”

Nicole looked over to where she heard the noise and saw Waverly with her hand on her head, “Waverly! I’m so sorry, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Me?”

“ _ Yeah _ .”

Nicole looked around her surroundings and noticed she wasn’t laying on her couch. She saw pictures of Wynonna and Waverly and who she assumes was Willa.

“What’s going on? Where am I?”

“You’re at the homestead,  _ Haughty-pants _ ,” Wynona spoke up as she set a cup of coffee down on the table for the girl.

“What?”

“Okay, maybe I should explain.”

“Yeah maybe,” Wynonna chuckled.

Waverly glared at her sister before starting, “well, I was on my way to work when I saw a jacket on the ground on the side of the road. So I picked it up and noticed footprints in the dirt, and I followed them until the grass along the woods. Then I saw some pieces of fabric torn on the branches, so I followed in that direction until I found you passed out in the woods.”

Nicole looked shocked as she looked down to examine herself. She noticed she had a couple of scratches on her arms, but then she realized that the shirt she was wearing didn’t belong to her. “Oh God, was I….naked when you found me?”

“No, no. You were in a shirt and shorts, but your shirt was pretty torn up, so I just got one of Champs that I claimed and changed the two.”

“Uh.”

“Oh my God. I’m sorry, was that okay? I promise that’s all I did, I-”

Nicole chuckled, “you’re fine, Waverly. And thank you, but,” she looked at the clock and saw the time, ten-thirty. “Shit! I need to get to work.”

Nicole was about to get up when Waverly stopped her, “uh, yeah…..no. I called Nedley, and explained everything, he’s giving you the next few days off to rest and recover.”

“I’m fine.”

“All do respect, I don’t think you are.”

“I just had a fever, must’ve been sleepwalking or something.”

“Into the woods?”

“To grandmother’s house,” Nicole joked.

Wynonna laughed, “you’re funny, Haughty-pants. I like her!”

“Shut up, Wynonna.”

“Look, thank you Waverly, but I really need to get back.”

“At least explain to me what happened. I found you, I deserve at least that.”

Nicole looked at the girl and sighed, “uh. I had a stomach ache, my skin got really itchy, and I couldn’t really walk around my place. I was shaky and nauseated, and then I was outside, I guess I went out for fresh air, and everything was spinning around me, and then next thing I know I’m here.”

“Nicole-”

“Look, I feel fine now. I’m just gonna head home, okay?”

“I’ll give you a ride.”

“Okay.”

“Can I join?”

“Sure, Wynonna,” Waverly sighed.

* * *

 

The three girls piled into Waverly’s red jeep and headed on their way to Nicole's place.

“So Nicole, what brings you to good ol’ Purgatory,” the older one asked.

“Work. I helped Chrissy get out of a situation and her father offered me a job.”

“Interesting,” Wynonna nodded.

“And what about you? Word is you fled town long ago, what brings you back?”

“Family business.”

Nicole nodded.

“Well,” Waverly piped up. “How are you liking the small town?”

“It's...different.”

“Well is that good?”

Nicole looked around as they kept driving and looked back at the time she's spent in the small town. The first thing to come to her mind was her first encounter with the younger Earp girl. She smiled, “yeah, yeah it's great actually.”

“That's good, I'm glad you like it here.”

Nicole smiled, “well, thankfully the town is very welcoming...for a small town.”

Waverly chuckled, “touche.”

Wynonna snickered, “why do think I left.”

Nicole smirked.

* * *

 

As they drove back into town the girls carried on their small talk as Nicole would interject directions to her apartment. They pulled into the parking lot and parked next to Nicole’s truck.

“I didn’t know you lived here!”

“Yep. Nedley found it and covered my first few months rent.”

“Really, that old bastard,” Wynonna snarked.

“ _ Wynonna _ ,” Waverly slapped her arm.

“Ow! What?”

Nicole chuckled before climbing out of the Jeep, “well thank you for everything, Waverly.”

“Anytime, Nicole.”

“Yeah dude, no way we would’ve just left you out there.”

Nicole smiled, “alright, well...thanks again, and I’ll see you guys around.”

“Definitely,” Waverly smiled.

“I’m sure we’ll run into each other,” Wynonna stated.

Nicole nodded and then headed to her apartment.

The two sisters waited until she was inside before pulling out of the lot.

* * *

 

Nicole walked into her apartment and was greeted by her cat who was slightly angry since she hadn’t been fed.

“Hiya, Catlamity, you hungry?”

The cat purred and followed her owner to her bowl. Nicole went to go get the food, and was pouring the food into the bowl when she noticed a ring on her right ring finger.

“What the hell” she mumbled to herself.

After feeding the cat, she grabbed her phone and typed out a message to Waverly.

**_Hey Waverly, thanks for your help with everything. Did I somehow take your ring or something?_ ** She sent a photo of the ring to the girl along with the message.

She waited a few minutes, and her phone dinged.

**_Nice ring, but nope, not mine!_ **

That’s weird, Nicole thought. She took the ring off and set it down on the countertop. She examined it. It was a nice ring, a simple silver band with teal gemstones in the middle, wrapping around the entire band. Depending on the way the light bounced off of it, it looked more green or blue. As she continued to examine the ring, she noticed that the inside of the band had engravings of symbols similar to norse runes.

She went over to her laptop and searched the symbols, but each of her searches failed to give her any concrete information. After thirty more minutes of searching, she felt exhausted and decided to lay on the couch and take a nap before making dinner.

* * *

 

During Nicole’s nap, she had a vivid dream, that seemed more like a memory. She’s outside, and she’s walking, but she doesn’t know where she is headed. She sports an odd silhouette and follows it out into a field. She sees it’s eyes begin to glow with a yellow-ish gold tint, and then next thing Nicole knows she was at eye level with the shadow-like figure. Then everything started spinning again, and suddenly the ring she had on earlier was spinning on the ground. Before she knew it, Nicole jolted awake, and she was covered in cold sweat.

“ _ What the hell is happening _ ,” she asked herself.

She got off of the couch, and decided to text Waverly.

**_Hey, you’ll never believe what just happened._ **

**_What?_ **

**_I had the weirdest dream._ **

**_Please share!_ **

**_Ok…_ **

After typing out what happened in her dream, Nicole finally hit send. She sat at her table and nervously bounced her leg as she waited for a reply from the girl.

**_Are you still wearing the ring?_ **

**_No, I took it off._ **

**_Well, you should put it back on for now._ **

**_What’s going on,_ ** Nicole replied.

**_I don’t know, but keep wearing the ring until I can figure it out._ **

**_Ok…._ **

Nicole set her phone down and glanced at the ring. She looked back at her messages, and then reached for the ring to put it on. She picked up the ring, but as soon as she tried to slip it on her finger, it felt as hot as an iron.

“Fuck,” Nicole screamed as she jumped out of the chair in order to distance herself from the ring. She stood there and looked at the ring spin on the table. As she watched it spin she noticed that the silver and teal band seemed to have a yellow-ish gold glow coming off of it. The glow resembled the eyes of the figure in her dreams.

Suddenly the girl had a ringing in her ears, her skin was itchy, and she had pain throughout her body that felt like growing pains. Before she knew it she a crippling migraine, and she was in a ball on her floor. She looked around her, and her cat was hissing at her. She tried to get up, but she felt weak. And before she knew it, everything went black.

* * *

 

Nicole woke up and she was in the middle of a field. She walked around, and came back across another silhouette with the same glowing eyes. This time as she approached it, she realized it was a wolf, an abnormally large wolf. The wolf was light brown with a bit of black and white. She smiled and reached out to pet it, the hair was soft and thick. She smiled as the wolf leaned its head into her stomach.

After she was done petting it, the wolf stepped back, but then, it bowed to her. Nicole looked at it confused, but before she could understand what was going on everything started spinning, and suddenly she was watching the ring spinning on the table. Once the ring stopped spinning, the wolf reappeared, and it looked over to the ring. She grabbed it and put it back on, then the wolf transformed into a human, but she didn’t know who it was, the man simply smiled at her.

* * *

 

Nicole jolted awake on her floor when she felt a hand on her arm. She quickly jerked away from the hand.

“Sorry,” Waverly said as she pulled her hand back.

“Waverly? How did you get in?”

“You hide your key under your doormat.”

Nicole looked confused, “but why are you here?”

“I called you like ten times. Eight of them were because you didn’t answer the door. I’m sorry, I was worried something happened, so I looked for your key.”

“You’re fine, don’t apologize.”

“You were in a ball on the floor. Are you okay?”

“Yeah I just had a migraine.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, and another dream.”

“Really?”

Nicole nodded.

Waverly offered her a hand to get up, and she slowly helped the redhead get back on her feet. Nicole went and sat at the table, and Waverly sat across from her.

“So,” the redhead said as she began to tell Waverly about her dream. Once she finished Waverly looked at Nicole with a smirk.

“What’re you looking at me like that for?”

“You know what this means right?”

“No?”

“Nicole,  _ I think you’re a werewol _ f.”

“A werewolf?”

 

“Yeah, actually that’s why I was here in the first place. I was looking into some of the things you were saying. I  searched some of the symptoms you had, some of the descriptions from your first dream, and I don’t think they’re dreams at all.”

 

“What,” the officer asked, still trying to understand the situation. 

 

“I think they’re memories from that first night, or from when you’re in wolf form.”

 

“So you actually think that I’m a werewolf. Waverly, that’s insane.”

 

“I’ve seen weirder,” Waverly mumbled as she pulled up the research she had found. 

 

Nicole read over the girl’s research, “this is….” She sighed. “This is a lot to take in.”

 

“So you believe me.”

 

“I believe there is something weird going on.”

 

“So?”

 

“So I need you to help me figure out what it is.”

 

“Me?”

 

“Yeah, Waverly you’re one of the smartest people I know, and you dug up all of this research, so I was thinking, maybe…”

 

“Nicole, I’d love to help you figure out what’s going on.”

 

“Really?”

 

Waverly nodded. 

 

“Thank you, Waverly.”

 

“Anytime, Nicole.”

 

Nicole smiled, “well are you hungry? Maybe we can go grab some food, I’m starving.”

 

“Sure,” Waverly smiled. “Where to?”

 

“I know a bar, it’s a little out of town, but it’d be nice to get away from this small town, you know?”

 

“Sounds great.”

 

“Cool,” Nicole grabbed her keys and a jacket. “Let’s go.”

* * *

 

The girls climbed in the officer’s truck and headed out of town. Once they got out of the city limits Waverly sighed. 

 

“Everything okay, Waves?”

 

“Yeah, its just, I haven’t been out of the Purgatory in so long.”

 

“Really? You have a car, a job, you’re independent, Waves you can write your own ticket. You could get out of here!”

 

“I thought you liked this place.”

 

“I do, it’s a great place, but you’ve been here all of your life. It’s okay to want change.”

 

“I just-it’s not-uh.”

 

Nicole chuckled, “it’s okay Waves. Change is good.”

 

“I just feel bad for wanting to leave. I can’t just leave everyone in this town. I’m the last Earp,” she said with a sarcastic tone. “The good Earp. The Earp everyone can count on.” 

 

“Sounds like Waverly Earp is a hard name to live up to.”

 

“Yeah, I just. I love Purgatory, I love the people in it, and I love the town, but I need something new. With Wynonna back, things are...changing, but I’m still bored.”

 

“It’s okay to be bored, Waverly. Why do you think I came here?”

 

“I’m supposed to believe the big city got boring?”

 

“No, you’re supposed to believe that I needed change in my life. The city was great, and I loved the fast paced lifestyle, and I had great friends, but things get old. Same thing to do everyday, same people, same life, moving to Purgatory has obviously been a life changing experience.” 

 

The two girls laughed. 

 

“Look, life will throw crazy things at you, and sometimes life slows down, but you’ll find the change you need, it just takes a little time.” 

 

“Thanks, Nicole.” 

 

“Of course, I’m here for you Waverly.”

 

Waverly smiled, she hadn’t even known the woman for that long, but she felt close to her. Nicole made her feel special, like she had a purpose. The redhead gave her a warm, happy feeling inside that even Champ couldn’t give her. She looked out the window and took in the scenery as they drove further and further out of town.

* * *

 

Waverly didn’t even realize she had fallen asleep, she had been staring out the window for the longest time. Nicole had turned on the radio, and somewhere in between, Waverly managed to fall asleep. She woke up when she felt the truck come to a stop. 

 

“Hey, Waves, we’re here.”

 

Waverly opened her eyes, and sat up again. She had a small pain in her neck from the way she had fell asleep. She took a minute to feel like she was actually awake. She yawned and rubbed her eyes before turning to Nicole, “sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, you seemed pretty tired.”

 

Waverly grinned as she played with her hair.

 

“Plus I got some great sabotage photos,” she chuckled. 

 

“No you did not!”

 

“I guess you’ll have to wait to see.”

 

Waverly slapped Nicole’s arm, “jerk.”

 

“Can I get you a drink for the inconvenience?”

 

“I guess that makes up for it, but only a little.”

 

“Well,” Nicole hopped out of the truck and walked over to open Waverly’s door. “Shall we?” The women held out a hand to help the girl down. 

 

Waverly felt the heat in her cheeks as she tried to hide the red appearing in them. She chuckled and grinned as she reached for the other girl’s hand. Once she was out of the truck, she closed the door and the two girls headed into the bar.

* * *

 

“Welcome back,” the man behind the bar said with a smile.

 

“Hello sir, hope things have been good here.”

 

“No major issues since the last time you were here.”

 

“Well, I’m sorry that there was any trouble at all.”

 

“Well, luckily you were here or else things could’ve been a lot worse.”

 

“I’m sure you would’ve been able to handle those guys.”

 

“Maybe. I see you got yourself a job.”

 

“Yeah, I’m the new sheriff’s deputy.”

 

“Good for you.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“What can I get you girls?”

 

“I’ll have a water to start, Waves?”

 

“Oh I’ll have a coke, please.”

 

“Comin’ right up.”

 

“Thank you,” the girls said. 

 

Nicole grabbed two menus that were laying on the bar table, she handed one to Waverly, and the two looked over their food choices.

* * *

 

The bartender came back with the drinks and the two girls had managed to decide what to order. 

 

“Any choices for food?”

 

“I’m gonna get a burger,” Nicole said.

 

“And I’ll have the house salad.”

 

“Oh and can we get a large basket of fries please?”

 

“I’ll put the order in for you, and I’ll bring it out when it’s ready,” the man smiled.

 

“Thank you.”

 

The girls grabbed their drinks and headed over to a booth in the corner. Once they sat down, Nicole took a sip of her drink, as Waverly glances around the bar. 

 

“This place is so cool. Reminds me of Shorty’s but a little more urban.”

 

“Yeah my friends and I used to come here all the time for drinks.”

 

“So you know the bartender?”

 

“Nah, I mean I guess he is always here when we were, but the last time I was here was when I ran into Chrissy.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yeah me and a bunch of friends were celebrating me finishing up at the academy.”

 

“And you got a job out of it!”

 

“Yeah,” Nicole chuckled. “Guess I did.”

 

“So what made you choose Purgatory?”

 

“Well, I mean. I had sent in several applications to several departments, but hadn’t heard anything. There isn’t usually much turnover in the field. So Nedley offered me a job, so as soon as I finished I figured I should give it a shot. Plus it seemed like it would be a nice change.”

 

“Well, I know it wasn't the best situation, but I’m glad you ran into Chrissy.”

 

“Me too, I like Purgatory.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah, like I said, it was a nice change.”

 

“Slow and small.”

 

“Friendly, for the most part.”

 

“And probably haunted.”

 

“Like a town out of a horror movie or a sci-fi TV show.”

 

Waverly laughed, “good ol’ Purgatory.”

 

“Well, it’s not too bad, I mean, hey I made some friends.”

 

“That you did.”

 

“Sure glad I met you, Ms. Earp. You’re all sorts of amazing.”

 

Waverly blushed, “aw, well. If it hadn’t been for your love of coffee we wouldn’t have met.”

 

“I think we would’ve, just maybe wouldn’t be as close.”

 

“Well either way,” the girl raised her glass and Nicole raised hers. 

 

“To friendship,” the two said with smiles on their faces. 

 

“Seriously though,” Nicole said. “You’re awesome, and I can’t thank you enough for helping me out with, everything.”

 

“Well, of course, Nicole. I wouldn’t just ignore that. You’re my friend. I would never have just left you out there that night.”

 

“Well thanks for that.” 

 

“Of course, we’re gonna figure this out. Just make sure that if anything happens you call me or text me or write down whatever you can remember, it may help us figure all of this out.”

 

Nicole nodded and took a sip of her drink. 

 

“Hey where’s the ring?”

 

“What?”

 

“The ring? The one that you were wearing in the photo.  I told you to keep it on.”

 

Nicole thought back to what happened, “oh.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“When I texted you, I was going to put it on, but then I touched it, and it burned real bad, and then it started spinning, and then everything started spinning, and then you woke me up again.”

 

“And then we talked, and then we came here.”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Well, I’m sure we’ll be fine. I mean, how do you feel?”

 

“Fine I guess. I don’t know, I usually feel sick or something before something happens. Like the first night when you found me I felt sick and had this weird feeling in my stomach. And I guess I probably had the same weird feeling but didn’t notice earlier because my finger burned from the ring.”

 

“Well, I think as long as you put it on when we get back you should be fine.”

 

“Yeah but what if the ring is a stimulant not a repressor?”

 

“Then you don’t wear the ring anymore.”

 

“How will we know?”

 

Waverly shrugged, “I brought my laptop, so we can do some research when we get back to your place.”

 

“Uh, yeah sure. That’d be great.”

 

“I’m sorry, I keep inviting myself over, and assuming things are fine with you.”

 

“Well, so far you’ve been correct, so don’t worry about it.”

 

The girls food came and the two girls were hungrier than they thought. Waverly quickly began to eat her salad as Nicole took large bites out of her burger, both barely waiting to finish one bite before putting another into their mouth. 

 

“How’s the salad?”

 

“Good, and the burger?”

 

“Delicious.”

* * *

 

Once the girls were done eating, the bartender handed her the check, and both girls reached for their wallet. 

 

“What’d you think you’re doing,” Nicole asked. 

 

“Paying?”

 

“Now my mom didn’t raise me to invite a pretty girl to lunch and make her pay.”

 

“Nicole-”

 

“I got this, Waves. It’s the least I could do.”

 

“Please, let me at least give you the money for the salad.”

 

“No way, you’re helping me out with the supernatural, in your free time, might I add. I’m paying.” Nicole grabbed the check and put her card down on the table.

 

Once the bartender came back with her card, the officer put down the tip and the two girls headed out to the car. The ride back was filled with a singing and laughing. When they pulled into the parking spot outside of Nicole’s apartment they were still laughing as they headed to the door. Nicole was still chuckling as she looked for the key to her apartment. Suddenly Nicole felt shaky and she dropped her keys. 

 

“Are you okay Nicole?”

 

“What,” Nicole asked feeling a bit disoriented. “Yeah, I’m fine, just a bit tired I guess.”

 

“Singing takes a lot out of you,” Waverly joked. 

 

“Yeah,” Nicole bent over to grab her keys. SHe managed to unlock the door to her apartment, but Waverly’s concern for her friend’s well being was growing as she watched the girl’s actions. 

 

“Nicole, I think you should sit down, I’ll go get you some water.”

 

Nicole gave in, and sat on the couch. Waverly quickly got the girl a glass of water and handed it to the girl. Nicole took a sip and a deep breathe, but she still had a huge headache, and she was getting cold sweats. Waverly went to go find some tylenol when she noticed the ring on the table. It was glowing a yellowish-gold color. She took the ring and headed over to Nicole who had her head in her hands. 

 

“Nicole you need to put this ring back on, right now.” 

 

“Waverly, this is the same thing that happened that night.”

 

“Nicole just put the ring back on!”

 

Suddenly Nicole’s ears were ringing and the room started spinning. 

 

“Nicole?”

 

“Waverly,” Nicole said as she tried to fight the pain. She placed a hand on the girl’s knee and Waverly felt the girl’s nail dig into her. Waverly looked the girl in the eyes and she noticed that her usual brown eyes glowing the same color that the ring was giving off. Before Waverly could react Nicole collapsed onto the ground. 

 

“Nicole!”

 

Waverly went to help the girl when Nicole began to transform into a wolf. 

 

“Holy, shit.”

 

The animal stared at Waverly and growled. 

 

“Uh, hey there, Nicole. It’s me, Waverly.”

 

The wolf growled again and bared it’s teeth. 

 

“Nicole, I need you to snap out of it.” 

 

The wolf growled and launched itself towards Waverly, knocking the girl onto the ground. THe wolf loomed over her as she tried to get through to Nicole. 

 

“Nicole, please.”

 

The wolf snarled and made eye contact with the girl on the floor who was doing her best not to show the fear in her face. She noticed the glow in the wolf’s eyes was the same in the ring and the same that she’d seen in Nicole’s eyes before she transformed. Suddenly the glow in the eyes began to dim and the animal transformed back into Nicole. Waverly found the ring on the ground and quickly slid it onto the girl’s finger, then carefully tried to wake the girl. 

 

Nicole sat up slowly. 

 

“Nicole?”

 

“Waverly?”

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“I think so, what happened?”

 

“Well,” Waverly explained what happened and handed the girl the glass of water. 

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Me,” Waverly asked. “You transformed into a wolf and you can’t remember anything.”   
  


“Yeah but I feel like I just woke up, you were attacked. I’m so sorry.”

 

“It’s not your fault Nicole.”

 

“I need to figure out how to get this under control.”

 

“Well, it would be great if you were aware of what was going on while you were in wolf form.”

 

“I can’t even remember it after the fact,” Nicole sighed.

 

“Well, that’s what I’m here for.”

 

“Looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

  
“Good thing we have a few days off.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This definitely took longer than I had anticipated. I'm sorry. I have been writing and writing little by little, but then exam week and everything came and breaks I just worked, so I'm sorry. But yaaay an update. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoyed. Please feel free to leave comments, reactions, suggestions, etc. Thanks for reading! Please stay tuned for the next update (:


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